A sneak peek at the Edmonds Art Studio Tour

Courtesy of: Edmonds Art Studio TourMike O’Day is one of the featured artists on the 2018 Edmonds Art Studio Tour.

Artists in and around Edmonds are preparing to open their studio doors for the 13th annual Edmonds Art Studio Tour Sept. 15-16.

The free, annual, self-guided event, sponsored in part by the Edmonds Arts Festival, provides a glimpse into 15 private art studios showcasing the work of 30 local artists.

The tour, which Edmonds mixed-media artist Meredith Arnold describes as a “mini art safari,” offers patrons an opportunity to meet professional artists, see how they create their work, and purchase pieces directly from the makers.

Studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

A few members of the tour steering committee recently shared comments about the upcoming event.

New works and old favorites

Oil and pastel artist Janis Graves will be showing her new small floral paintings on textured surfaces. “I will also have some new pieces from my trip to a working cattle ranch in Colorado,” she said. For those who love her past work, she said she will have a selection of her vibrantly lifelike animal paintings and soothing still-life pieces.

Landscape painter Andy Eccleshall has a new show Cole Gallery in Edmonds opening around the same time as the tour, so there will be a few pieces from the new collection in his studio. Not as large as his typical works, these pieces may appeal collectors with smaller display areas.

She is also creating smaller versions of her intricate, special-occasion wire-wrapped pieces. And, for pet owners, she continues to create custom glass pendants and ornaments with a pet’s ashes fused inside.

Designing jewelry of a completely different style, Arnold has developed a method for making lightweight, dichroic-looking jewelry using polymer clay instead of glass. She is also working on some interesting one-of-a-kind, special necklaces.” She designs and makes virtually all components from scratch, including the chain.

Representational artist Angela Bandurka is planning to feature some works on paper in charcoal, work that has never been publicly displayed before.” She will also show her sketchbooks, in which she plans her paintings. For her collectors, she offers an annual calendar.

“This year, I'll have my 2019 calendar filled with the paintings from the last year,” she said, “but I'll also create a separate teacup calendar with some of my favorite teacup paintings from the past 10 years, since this is my 10th anniversary of starting my business as an artist.”

Artists collecting artists

Tour artists say they support each other and enjoy collecting each other’s work.

Eccleshall said he likes Mike O’Day’s “Murder of Crows” series of clay creatures. “Still hoping to steal a piece (or buy one) to add to our collection of favorite artists,” he said.

Arnold would like one of his garden art pieces. “His sense of humor comes through each piece and I love how he lets his mind out into the real world. It takes great strength to do that.”

“I love the perfect detail of Katie Childs’ wildlife art,” said Chappelle. “It’s astonishing what she can do with depth and shading just using stippling.” She also loves the color, movement and joy of the paintings of Whitney Buckingham-Beechie, a new artist to the tour this year. “Her deeply pigmented indigo pieces are energetic and soothing all at the same time.”

Graves and Bandurka agree that David Marty’s “beautifully painted landscapes” are wish-list worthy.

Bandurka also gave kudos to sculpture artist David Varnau, calling him “brilliant with the figure” and stating that the “sense of joy in his works is unparalleled.”

“I would love to own one of Chris Minor’s Japanese inspired prints,” said Arnold. “I have watched him meticulously hand carve the plates he prints from. He has a very specific vision for each piece he creates, and it shows in the end results.”

Visit the tour’s mobile-friendly website at EdmondsArtStudioTour.com to preview the participating artists and their work, download a map of participating studios and find links to each artist’s website.